The first monster hit of 2008

The trailer sparked a blogging frenzy - Christopher Goodwin on the mystery film from the creator of Lost that's got everybody talking

The first sighting came in cinemas in summer: a trailer that ran in July, before the movie Transformers. Since subjected to more online analysis than a Baudrillard text in a post-structuralism doctoral class, it begins with what looks like rough home-movie video footage of a surprise party in a New York loft for a young man named Rob. The shaky handheld camera skirts round the party, where various good-looking people in their mid- twenties chat about Rob, who is about to leave for Japan.

The party is thrown into sudden chaos when the lights go out and a loud noise is heard. Someone shouts, "It sounded like an animal." On a television set, a newsflash says that there may have been an earthquake in lower Manhattan. The camera follows as the people from the party head up to the roof of the building to get a better look.